On January 24, 2014, a jihadist car bomb attack caused considerable damage to the museum and its holdings. Though the attack was actually targeted at the Cairo police headquarters on the other side of the street, experts estimated at the time that 20-30% of the museum’s artifacts would need restoration.

In the end, of the 179 items affected by the attack, 160 were restored and back on display when the museum reopened on January 20, 2017. These repaired relics were accompanied by special gold labels to indicate their tumultuous past.

Among the works damaged beyond repair were glass lanterns from the Medieval period.